Russia+-+Andrew+and+Dywan+Block+2

__ Russia; The Motherland __ Andrew Graveline and Dylan Myrold Block 2

__ The Land __ -__Mountains and Plateaus__ The Ural Mountains form the natural boundary between Europe and Asia which extends about 1,300 mi from the Arctic Ocean to the northern border of Kazakhstan.

Between the Black and Caspian seas, the Caucasus Mountains form a boundary between Europe and Asia. The geological structure of the Caucasus extends to the northwest. The Caucasus Mountains create an imposing natural barrier between Russia and its neighbors to the southwest, Georgia and Azerbaijan. -__Plains:__ Western Russia makes up the largest part of one of the great lowland areas of the world, the Russian Plain also known as the Northern European Plain. It extends into Russia from the western border eastward for 1,000 miles to the Ural Mountains and from the Arctic Ocean for 1,500 miles to the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian Sea. The Western Siberian Plain covers an area of 1 million square miles, one-seventh of Russia’s total area and it stretches about 1,200 miles from the Urals to the Yenisey and 1,500 miles from the Arctic Ocean to the foothills of the Altai Mountains. -__Water Systems:__

__ Climate and Vegetation: __ Russia’s plant life is closely tied to the climate. From north to south the Russian Plain is tundra (treeless, marshy plain), coniferous forest (taiga), mixed forest, deciduous forest, and grassland (steppe). Siberia is similar but it lacks the mixed forests, and most of Siberia is taiga, its mainly found in the western regions of dense forests in moisture rich areas. Taiga consists of coniferous trees and forests. Another climate zone is steppe, it stretches from from southern Ukraine through Kazakhstan to the Altay Mountains. This is also known as "the Great Steppe", this region has bluegrasses, turf grasses and fescue. __ Population and Culture: __ Russia's population density is 22 people per square mile making it one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. An October 1st the population of Russia was 143,300,000. The population hit a historic peak at 148,689,000 in 1991, just before the breakup of the Soviet Union.